In my opinion there are only two crime shows on television worth watching. The original "C.S.I." and "Without a Trace". Sure, the others might not be that bad, but I don't believe any of them are as consistently good. In reviewing the eighth season of "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation" I am reminded of how the show has managed to inject a mild amount of personal drama into their stories while still managing to make sure the focus remains on the crime solving aspect of the show, which is the reason people are tuning in in the first place.

The eight season of "C.S.I." was cut short by seven episodes due to the writers' strike leaving us with 17 episodes as well as a bonus episode of "Without a Trace" as they worked in a crossover episode between the two franchises. I know I already said those two shows are my favorites, but unfortunately the crossover was only mediocre if I can be truly honest. However the rest of this season continues the trend of arcing storylines and a mild amount of personal drama to keep folks interested in the characters and intrigued by the mystery all at the same time.

Season eight is something of a turning point for the long-running show, which is something to brag about since eight seasons is typically when franchises begin shutting down if they even make it that far, but it looks as if "C.S.I." is just getting started. This season sees the exit of Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and leaves the audience with a major cliffhanger as one character is shot twice, once through the neck leaving his chance for survival in major doubt (actually if he lives it will be a serious cop out).

This season begins by wrapping up the seventh season's running arc involving the Miniature Killer, which had Sara trapped beneath a car in the middle of the desert and it introduces another arc, which I am assuming would have been much more involved had the writers' strike not forced the series to cut it short. Warrick (Gary Dourdan) gets personally involved with an old school Las Vegas mobster that appears to have wormed his way into the pockets of the police force as police corruption is brought to the forefront.

My favorite episodes of the 17 include a particularly atmospheric episode called "The Chick Chop Flick Shop" in which a scream queen is found murdered at the warehouse of a horror studio. "Cockroaches" is the episode introducing the Vegas mob and the storyline finds its way into two other episodes in the season including the finale. "Lying Down with Dogs" isn't going to earn any fans with PETA members as it shows quite a nasty side of dog-fighting, but it is a pretty good episode nonetheless.

Along with the mob/dirty cop story crossing over into the ninth season I also see a wrongly accused former sex offender popping up in the ninth season with an eye for hurting Catherine. However, the big new element to the ninth season will be when Laurence Fishburne joins the series as William Petersen (Gil Grissom) leaves the show. See, told yah they are just getting started.

As for special features there are a couple of commentaries and four featurettes. Of the featurettes only one "TOD: A Bug's Life" is worth watching as it takes a look at how bugs help in crime scene investigations. The other three are too long and too boring to bother with unless you are particularly invested in the show and its characters.